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Ash vs Evil Dead season 1 review

After re-reading and noticing just how long PART 01 of this review was, it’s refreshing to know that we only have a few more episodes to talk about before the finale of Season 01. If you’re only joining us now, [and have seen the entire first season of Ash VS Evil Dead] you should probably turn around and read the first part of this two part-er review. [which you can do here] Like part 1 though, there’s some crazy spoilers coming your way if you’re planning on reading this, so take that as a warning – because I’m not taking the blame for you spoiling this for yourself! If you’re ready, let’s begin talking about the endafter the jump!

Starting from where we left yesterday, Ash and company [as well as being joined by Amanda, the cop] begin a search for a guy that Ash knows named Lem, in order to get some fire power to use against the Evil.. except Lem is having some kind of self-discovery as a Deadite. When they finally arrive at Lem‘s place – which is more of a military camp – all the other men who Lem was with are not happy to see them..at all. It becomes obvious that Lem has been slowly killing off everyone. These militia men decide that Ash and his team are the ones behind Lem‘s new found state and that they work for someone known as Big Brother.[it doesn’t helped by one of them remembering that Amanda is a cop] Essentially the whole episode gives us Kelly and Pablo on the run [and getting to know one another a little better] and Ash/Amanda getting to know each other more intimately. While I’m glad Ash has a female that he seems to be getting close to, I can’t help think of Linda from the original films and what happened with her when Ash and her got close. And then..and then it finally happened!

In the next episode, which is titled: Ashes To Ashes, we finally return to the cabin. We see Ash look at it saying “Honey, I’m Home!” and it gave me chills; it looks the same, it feels the same, there’s even references to what happened in the original films! The only thing that could be said negatively about this episode is that Ash‘s loneliness when he thinks about the past inside that cabin, I expected to be a bit longer and to bring us to a showdown with his hand..which it does [don’t get me wrong!] it’s just ended quite soon. Amanda, in good timing, arrives just seconds after he does. Which is short lived, because unfortunately, like allAsh‘s love interests, Amandadies! The worst part? It’s technicallyAsh‘s fault..well, his hand that he chopped off 30 years ago ‘s fault. We learn that even something as small as a hand, when possessed, can spawn an entire body. It just happened to spawn another Ash. [and then, the episode ends..again..] I remember first seeing her death and thinking, “maybe Ruby – who seems to know a lot about the Deadites – can save her?” Sadly, I couldn’t be any more mistaken.

Taking place right after the end of the last episode, we see that [although she died]Amanda is still around.. and yes, she’s a Deadite. [no surprise there, am I right?] A pretty extreme Deadite too, there’s one scene before Pablo and Kelly reach the cabin, [they’re still on the run from the militia by this point] where Amanda attacks the duo along with a group of three campers, two of which she kills off easily[even going as far as reaching into their heads and using their mouths as puppets – no wonder Ash like[d] her! She’s funny!] Not long after, the suspicious Ruby[who we still don’t know anything about..yet] makes an appearance and fights off Amanda. After some talking, Pablo and Kelly take her to the cabin where she [somehow] convinces Ash to give her the Necronomicon[if you listen carefully, the book has some verbal input in the debate] by ‘passing it along to her’ and defacing [quite literally] the book. The “defaced” part of the book then attaches itself to Pablo, making him [involuntarily] go “half-Deadite”? I guess? Either way, Ruby claims this is in order to finish the fight once and for all. Except she doesn’t intend to ‘finish it’, but rather start it. Ruby claims she plans on summoning, not one – but all the demons from the book and destroy all life because, as Ruby explains, leaving us on another cliffhanger scene, she wrote the book. Yes. Ruby is exactly what I didn’t expect! Even though I’m not a huge fan of cliffhangers, It’s a great setup for the final episode!

you feeling okay there, Ruby?

The finale begins with the now known evilRuby taking Pablo, who still has the Necronomicon attached to his face, to the basement of the cabin. Ash takes off after them while Kelly is left upstairs. This episode was arguably my favorite, being as it’s not only is it fun, it’s actually enough to keep you ready for more. [and then it makes you sad when you realize we have to wait for Season 02] The direction it goes in is sharp in execution and it’s clear that Rick Jacobson – who directed this episode – does an excellent job keeping it going at a fast and frantic pace. Like I said, The show is also, for the first time, genuinelyscary. There are some good jump scares in the basement and thanks to a “particular book” attached to his face, Pablo pukes up a hideous child-like demon [probably the scariest creature in the series so far], all hell breaks loose as Ash is constantly forced to watch in fear, as his friend is slowly dying from a book he swore to destroy! [Pablo even asks him to end his life on a few occasions!] But the best part of this finale is subtle. During a scene in the basement – keep your eyes open for a Nightmare of a cameo..that’s right, Freddy Kruger is referenced for a split second! [or you can just click here, I found it for you!]

Speaking of genuinely creepy, there’s a particular creepy scene where Ash‘s flashlight is moving in the dark and Kelly calls out to it. As it moves closer and closer, it abruptly turns off.. only for the child-like Deadite to scream right up in Kelly‘s face! [I can’t lie – I jumped!] If I had to pick a downside to this episode though, it’s the somewhat strange conclusion. For some reason, we see Ash[apparently] agreeing to let Ruby have control over the book and unleash all evil upon the world..in exchange for a trip to Jacksonville, some gas money and Pablo / Kelly to be perfectly fine. Something about “all for the same of bringing balance.” It was strange and not fully explained, especially seeing Ash being so easily seduced when he was able to resist the temptations of the book before. Granted, it is an Ash like thing to do: give up everything for a small break back to the simple life. This is what he wanted..right? The season ends with the trio driving toward Jacksonville, only to have a sinkhole appear behind their car, showing us that they can’t turn back.

If I’ve learned anything from Evil Dead, it’s that girls covered in blood [in the rain] is something I find very attractive.

So there you have it: an entire review of the first season of Ash VS Evil Dead. It was a long type [especially being a two part-er] and even though I enjoyed writing them, I don’t see myself writing a review on an entire season again for a while. [unless it becomes a thing people want, that’s another story] Overall, Ash VS Evil Dead blew my expectations out of the water with the atmosphere, the characters, and the similarities that made it feel like an Evil Dead film. I also really appreciated the fact that with new ‘versions’ of Deadites, and new revelations about the Necronomicon, it tells me that we know nothing. I can only imagine how Season 02 is going to start!

So as per usual, I’m going to turn to You: the reader. What did You think about the first season of Ash VS Evil Dead? Did you enjoy it as much as I, as well as critics, did? Or was it something that wasn’t your cup of tea? Why or Why Not? Let’s talk about it in the comments! Also, if you find yourself to enjoy what I do on here, then please take a minute and follow meover on my Facebook page[it’s at over 130+ likes – only a few more and we’ll have reached over 150!] By clicking that “like” button, you’ll see everypost from warrenisweird the verymoment it’s been posted online; and I alsoshare links to articles and pictures/videos that will not be featured here on the blog. Every “like” helps me a ton, giving me the ability to write more posts for you to read, so be sure to tell the horror enthusiast in your life to do the same, and share The Facebook Page with your family and friends!

I believe I have made a significant find in the Kandarian ruins, a volume of ancient Sumarian burial practices. Sound familiar? If you’re a fan of a certain cult horror film, you’d know exactly where you’ve heard that before. Flash forward 30 odd years and today, we’re going full out spoiler mode with a post I’ve been wanting [but literally couldn’t right away] to write since Episode 03: a review on all 10 episodes from the first season of Ash VS Evil Dead. Technically, I already wrote a few reviews on the show [here’s my review of episode 01, and here’s another on episode 03] I’m expecting this post is going to be a long one, so long in fact; that this is going to be a two part post. This one is already really long, and tomorrow will be the FINAL few episodes – beginning where this posts ends. Also, if you haven’t already been able to tell, this post will explain everything that happened in season 01 plot wise, so if you haven’t seen the show, and plan on watching it.. don’t read this. At all. Because there will be spoilers everywhere. Ready to read a lot of words? Let’s go!

Still here? Okay, good – let’s begin.

We start off 30 years after the original Evil Dead films, where we learn that a now constantly drunk Ash has accidentally read from the Book Of The Dead[all while getting high] and unleashed the Deadites..again. It’s pretty interesting actually, cause when we see him open the book, you can see sticky notes inside – presumably where he’s tried, and successfully begun translating the book on his own time! However, he’s working as a stock boy at another small town store, and has been living in a trailer park; constantly on the run from what happened all those years ago. When he does unleash the evil, we see the famous Evil Dead tracking shots as a result. [which is fucking awesome to see] With the help of a trusty and enthusiastic new sidekick Pablo and another store worker – the very attractive Kelly – this newly founded trio decides that it’s up to them to stop The Evil Dead. There’s also a cop, Amanda, who happens to blame Ash for all the Evil that’s happening. She’s important as well, as she shows up continuously throughout the season. [more on her later!]

This pilot was pretty damn impressive, giving hints to the original films, talking about previous characters, and even adding new ones. It shows us that Ash may have become a guy who keeps to himself and gets drunk all the time, but he’s still a fallible character; he does it because he’s been through so much that he doesn’t want to deal with it anymore; but does he really have a choice? Not really. This fantastic pilot episode ends with us seeing that Ash has a business card for a book store, which he calls the number on and mentions that they’ve spoken before about “a particular book.” This brings me to an important point in the season..

left to right:Pablo, Ash, Kelly

After seeing Lucy Lawless show up for a brief moment, with little to no explanation of who she is, we visit the episode titled Books From Beyond: where Ash and his new found gang decide to travel to a bookstore. [which shares the same name as the episode] Their game plan is to try to ‘unsummon’ the Evil through a passage inside the Book Of The Dead by the store owner, Lionel Hawkins, whom we’re left to assume Ash knows from calling a few times before. According to Hawkins, who translates the Book Of The Dead, it was written by an ancient group of evildoers called The Dark Ones. [okay, that could have been a little more creative..] These not quite human, not quite demon entities wrote some spells that supposedly have the ability to open portals into Hell, and unleash their demons into our world. As Hawkins puts it, “The book itself is harmless unless wielded by someone very evil.. or very stupid.” I’ll give you three guesses which category our supposed “hero” falls into..

Almost provingHawkins‘ point, Ash‘s new great plan to figure out why the Deadites are coming back is to release another one from inside the book, if only to ask it questions. After looking through the book for a bit, they ultimately decide on a “minor, wimpy Deadite” [as Ash calls it] named Eligos who, as the Necronomicon claims, is a “demon of the mind.” Which is proven when he can seemingly invade his enemies’ brain! [see this ‘new’ Deadite Eligos here] We also see very little explanation of who Lucy Lawless‘ character is. Every time we see her, She seems to know a lot about Ash, the Necronomicon, and the Deadites themselves.. She’s shown to have a Kandarian Dagger from Evil Dead II as well. By the end of the episode, Pablo suggests that his Brujo could help – but they haven’t spoken in a while.. Together; Ash, Pablo, and Kelly decide that they’ll head towards Pablo‘s old place and visit his Brujo.

Ash and Brujo

After setting moreEvil loose from the book; Ash, Pablo and Kelly head to Pablo‘s uncle’s house for some answers.. After all, Pablo claimed he was even a shaman! While this episode was important, it also felt like the weakest episode. The majority of it has Ash sent out on an amusing [but long] acid trip throughout the rest of the episode. Kelly is shown to be having some after-effects from the fight with Eligos in the previous episode, almost like she is possessed by the demon. and in his mind, Ash, attempts to take down Eligos. Unfortunately, he is attacking Kelly. [which was probably what Elgios wanted]Pablo and his Uncle restrain Ash by knocking him out cold, and the episode ends abruptly there, on what could be considered something of a cliff-hanger.

Continuing where the cliffhanger ended, Ash and Pablo must fight to save Kelly from being taken over by Eligos, who seems to want to take her over. With time running out, the duo must defy all odds if they want to keep trio. Fighting Deadites was hard enough, but becoming one could spell murder for everyone. While some of the interactions between the team and possessed Kelly were interesting [and actually felt like real Demon-extracting processes], this episode felt like Bruce Campbell was also required to give off a sense of helplessness as Ash, who seems to feel like he’s unable to help his friend for most of the runtime. It worked really well, and seeing a hard-ass like Ash feel helpless was heartbreaking. Unfortunately, this episode also has Brujo‘s death, but it was good to see they didn’t just treat his death as an inconvenience – as a large portion of the episode was dedicated to his death therefore further building of Pablo‘s overall character as a result. This leads us to episode 06: TheKiller Of Killers.

Now knowing what to do with the Necronomicon – thanks to that acid trip – Ash realizes what we’ve all been guessing all along. Ash[along with Kelly and Pablo] must return to where it all started: The Cabin from the original films. We also see our team stop at a bar for a little piece of cake, [y’know..to celebrate] while Amanda and Ruby arrive at Brujo‘s house, with his pyre still blazing, in search of Ash. [it’s a common thing that Amanda and Ruby show up one minute too late] Unfortunately, this episode ends with us hoping for The Cabin to show up..but doesn’t..for another few episodes. It’s not a bad episode, I just kept waiting for it to show.

And for now, that’s where I’m going to leave you. Like I said at the very beginning, this post was expected to be long. If you’re enjoying this, even with the spoilers, then please – come back around tomorrow [sometime in the afternoon] when I finish talking about the fantastic series/ first season that I’m already a huge fan of: Ash VS Evil Dead. STAY GROOVY!